Phone calls are the life’s blood of most water damage and disaster mitigation businesses, so it’s important that you know how to avoid common phone mistakes that will prevent you from converting leads into jobs. You should train everyone who answers your calls how to avoid these common phone mistakes to ensure you’re converting as many leads as possible.

Bad reviews got you down? You may think all of your reviews need to be perfect, but bad reviews can actually help your business. If you only have perfect reviews, customers are likely to assume they are fake or you are screening them. As long as the good outweigh the bad, negative reviews prove all of your reviews are real and that you have nothing to hide.

While you may think defending your business when you get a bad review will make you look better, but typically it’s the exact opposite. Some customers may be dissuaded by a few bad reviews, but they will definitely call your competitor if they see you constantly arguing with your customers. You will look much better if your responses show that you value your customer’s business and take their opinions seriously.

Most commercial jobs will require you to be properly insured and even some residential customers are asking for proof of insurance. We asked the experienced team at Brunswick Companies to share their insight on the importance of insurance.

Senior Vice President Michelle Hirsch has over 14 years of insurance experience, working with entrepreneurs and small business owners to help them manage their risks while they grow. Brunswick Companies has offered insurance brokerage and risk management consulting services since 1972.

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Business owners and individuals recognize the benefit of transferring potential liability to others and negotiating contracts to their advantage. When hiring contractors like you, these buyers are aware of possible risks in having workers on their premises or in their homes and will take steps to mitigate those risks.

When contracting a job, buyers will request your certificates of insurance and may ask to be an additional insured on some of your insurance policies.

For most disaster mitigation contractors, completing the job is easy. It’s often the marketing required to land the job in the first place that’s the hard part. Given the nature of disaster mitigation, reaching customers in an emergency should be your number one priority.

Even though marketing is critical to growing your water damage business, many companies don’t perceive it is that important, know how to do it, or think it is too expensive. Even businesses that understand the importance of marketing don’t always know where to start.

With growing competition from internet giants Google and Amazon and changes with HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List, marketing is more important than ever. While there are many different marketing options available, choosing the right one for your business isn’t always easy.

Launched in 1999 as an online book retailer, Amazon has grown to become the seventh largest company in the country. One of the keys to their success is Amazon Prime, which includes free 2-day shipping on all Prime items and a number of other services and offers.

Amazon launched Home Services in 2015. The service provides an upfront estimate and allows consumers to add that service to their cart like any other item. While they do not offer disaster mitigation services currently, they have the system in place to expand into water damage or other disaster response verticals at any time.

As this year draws to a close, we take a look back at the headlines of 2017, review the exciting changes here at 33 Mile Radius, and look forward to what’s in store for 2018.

The Top Headlines of 2017

Natural disasters were a major part of 2017. Harvey and Irma caused hundreds of billions in devastation and left hundreds dead and millions of people affected. The California wildfires have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres, leaving 45 dead and causing approximately $10 billion in damage to date.

Referrals are the most trusted form of advertising, with 84% of consumers trust referrals from their friends, family, and colleagues. Also known as word-of-mouth marketing, referrals have a level of authenticity that is unachievable with traditional marketing and advertising because there is no sales pitch or agenda.

This should go without saying, but you absolutely must do a good job before asking for a referral. If your customer is unsatisfied with your service, asking for a referral is only going to make matters worse.

HomeAdvisor’s parent company IAC announced in May that they had acquired Angie’s List for $500 million dollars. The announcement was hardly a surprise, IAC has been courting Angie’s List for the last several years. When the merger closed in October, the two companies were reorganized as ANGI Homeservices.

Although there were a number of layoffs at Angie’s List in September, CEO Chris Terrill said he was looking to “reignite the brand” and hinted they may be hiring in the future. The one thing that ANGI Homeservices hasn’t said is what this means for the future of the two websites and their customers and contractors.

However, companies don’t buy other companies without a plan that almost always involves growing revenue. While they can grow revenue by attracting more customers to their websites, they can also do so by raising rates on contractors as well.

Do you know how to effectively market your restoration business in today’s complicated digital marketplace? Do you know where your company ranks in local search results? If you don’t, you’re definitely missing out on jobs.

Research Technical Institute and 33 Mile Radius present this free webinar about how water damage marketing can succeed in a multi-channel marketing world.